Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction - Silent Retreat

Do you find yourself constantly worrying about the future, stuck in the past, or on "auto-pilot"? Mindfulness is about paying attention and cultivating an awareness of your thoughts, actions and motivations. Two decades of published research indicate that the majority of people who complete an MBSR program experience:

-An ability to respond more effectively to both short and long-term stress-Decreased pain and an improved ability to cope with pain or illness that may not go away-Potential benefits to immune function-An ability to make choices with greater clarity and awareness-An increased sense of well-being and appreciation for life

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a program that was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979.

We are offering a modified 4-week program, which will introduce you to the basic tools of MBSR. These include practicing gentle, mindful movement, sitting and walking meditation, body scan meditation and group dialogue. The traditional MBSR program is a more intensive 8-week training. Mindfulness-Based Programs are taught in a non-religious way and focus on integrating mindfulness into the realities of daily living.

People taking MBSR classes come from all walks of life, but they share a common interest in that they want to find more balance, peace, and happiness in their lives. They are committed to doing the “homework” and to learning to actively participate in their own care.

Instructor: Carole Melkonian, RN, L.Ac., has been practicing meditation for over 30 years. She trained for four years at a Zen Buddhist monastery, and for 16 years studied closely with Thich Nhat Hanh - helping start his publishing company, Parallax Press, in 1985. In 1997, she attended the MBSR training course with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli and has since taught MBSR in Northern California, at the National College of Natural Medicine and, since 2009, she has been teaching in the Providence Hospital System. Under the guidance of Tara Brach and James Baraz, she completed the 3-year Community Dharma Leadership Training, which certifies her to teach meditation courses. She has attended 3-month meditation retreats every year since 2010. In 2015 she spent 13 consecutive months on a meditation retreat at Buddhist monasteries in England, USA, and Canada. She continues to do month-long mindfulness meditation retreats at least once a year. Since February 2016, she has resumed her work as a meditation instructor, hospice RN at Hopewell House, and Licensed Acupuncturist.

This program includes four two-hour classes and a Saturday retreat. The classes will be held on Mondays Sept. 11 - October 2, 2017 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., and on Sunday October 1, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., for a 5-hour silent retreat.

Providence Health Plan members receive a discount on this class, and the discount is determined at registration check-out. If you are a Providence Medicare member, please call the Providence Resource Line at (503) 574-6595 to register for this class over the phone, to receive your discount for the class.

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing, and please bring a folded blanket, and yoga mat if you have one. Please bring a sack lunch to the Saturday retreat.

The class sessions will be held in the Basecamp Cardiac Wellness + Prevention Center, located on the first floor of the Providence Mother Joseph Plaza, on the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center campus.